Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering Military Faculty Application Information Thank you for your interest in joining the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering. Just getting started? If you are a military officer seeking a rotating faculty position within the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, use the link for TEACH (https://teach.westpoint.edu/) to initiate your application and begin the process of joining our team. Overview Each year, The Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering selects five to ten branch-qualified captains to attend a two-year advanced civil schooling program, with a three-year follow-on assignment to the USMA faculty. Our officers attend high-quality graduate programs and obtain Master of Science degrees in civil, mechanical, or aerospace engineering. As instructors in our two nationally ranked undergraduate engineering programs, our officers teach, perform professional service, conduct scholarly research and outreach to the Army, and participate in the mentorship of cadets, both in and outside of the classroom. An assignment to the USMA faculty is a challenging and rewarding developmental experience. Eligibility and Opportunities in D/CME Commissioning Sources. Officers from all commissioning sources are encouraged to apply for faculty positions in C&ME. Branch Eligibility. We accept applications from officers of all branches except the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. We have four TDA positions for Aviation officers (15B), who fly our department’s two fixed wing aircraft in support of the aeronautical engineering curriculum. We have 11 TDA positions for Corps of Engineer officers (21D), and one for a Functional Area 51 officer. All remaining positions are branch immaterial (01A). Minimum Requirements: Applicants should generally: have less than 17 years time-in-service (at start of graduate school). have an undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of >3.0. have a bachelor’s degree in civil, mechanical, or aerospace engineering, or a closely related field. have a minimum graduate record exam (GRE) scores of Verbal-153, Quantitative-144, and Writing-4.0. be competitive for promotion to the next rank in their basic branch be able to pass the ACFT and meet height/weight standards have the full support of the basic branch/functional area to which they are currently assigned Master’s of Science (MS) degree: Officers meeting the criteria above who have earned a BA or BS degree may compete for a full-time, fully-funded 2-year MS degree in a related field. Doctor of Philosophy (or Science) (PhD/ScD) degree: Officers meeting the above criteria who have already earned an MS degree in a related field may compete for a full-time, fully-funded, 3-year PhD degree in a related field. The Department typically considers ACS for PhD for a second tour – those officers who have already completed a faculty tour in the Department. Direct Hire: Officers with an MS or Ph.D. in a relevant field are often assigned to our faculty. Officers interested in direct hire opportunities should check in with CME.Mil.Personnel@westpoint.edu if they believe a direct fill is possible with C&ME. TIMELINE FOR FIRST-TOUR MILITARY FACULTY (M.S. DEGREE) We typically select officers to begin graduate school in their 6th, 7th, or 8th year of service for first-tour military faculty members who require graduate schooling; however, starting in the 8th year of service is not our first choice as it requires an exception to policy. Officers are encouraged to begin building their files as soon as possible and apply as soon as the fourth year of service; however, these files will not be considered by the selection board until they enter their three-year window of eligibility as described above Only branch-qualified officers will be approved for ACS and a follow-on assignment to USMA. Thus, officers who will not be branch-qualified in time to start school by the 8th year of service are generally not eligible. We are committed to ensuring that our officers leave USMA with adequate time for an O-4 key developmental assignment prior to consideration for promotion to LTC in the primary zone. To be eligible for consideration, faculty candidates should have a bachelor’s degree in civil, mechanical, or aerospace engineering, or a closely related field. Most successful candidates have an undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 or higher, though this is not a rigid requirement. APPLICATION PROCESS Begin the application process by accessing the USMA Faculty Interest Form to https://teach.westpoint.edu/.. Fill out the form and click the Submit button. Include the following inputs to your application file. Transcripts. Provide copies of your undergraduate and (if applicable) graduate transcripts. Unofficial copies are acceptable. We prefer that you upload a scanned image of the transcripts directly to your application file, rather than sending a hard copy. If you are a USMA graduate, you may call the Transcript Office at DSN 688-3759 (Commercial 845-938-3759) to request that a copy be sent to the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering. Evidence of a strong military record. Because our faculty members must serve as professional role models for cadets, C&ME places strong emphasis on choosing officers who are militarily successful. We request that you upload copies of all your OER's and AER's. You can obtain these in electronic form directly from your AKO account. Copy of your GRE and/or GMAT scores. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores provide us with an indicator of your potential for success in graduate school. They are also required by HRC for all officers attending advanced civil schooling. If you have not yet taken the GRE, or if your existing GRE scores will be over 5 years old at the time you enter ACS, you should take the exam as soon as possible. The Army minimum standards for the GRE are 500 points on the verbal assessment, 500 points on the quantitative assessment, and 4 in the analytical writing assessment. For GRE information, see http://www.gre.org or consult with your Education Center. You may either upload a scanned copy of your GRE scores directly to your application file, or you may have the scores sent directly to us. Letters of recommendation. We recommend that you provide two or three letters of recommendation commenting on your potential to do outstanding graduate work at a top U.S. university and be an effective college-level instructor. Letters from senior officers for whom you have worked, peers you have served with or even subordinates are useful, as are letters from your former college instructors. If you will not have a Command OER in time for our selection board, we recommend that you get a letter from your senior rater assessing your performance in your branch-qualifying job. It is important that the information you provide helps us understand the unique contribution you would make to our faculty. Personal statement: You may choose to submit a personal statement for us to consider as part of your application file. While there is no specific format for this statement, you should discuss why you want to teach, and what qualifications and unique talents or experiences you would bring to the department. Copy of your most recent Officer Records Brief (ORB). You can download a current copy directly from AKO. An informal photograph. We like to match faces to names. Your best estimate of your availability date to begin graduate school. This is dictated by your anticipated branch qualification and the timing of future PCS and school assignments. If you have not already done so, please alert your branch manager that you are interested in competing for an assignment at West Point. It is not necessary for you to provide all this information all at once. You may upload new information as it becomes available, and you may update your file at any time We hold selection boards in January of each year, with that year being considered the Selection Year (SY). As stated above, officers considered that year will come from the year groups SY-7, SY-6, and SY-5 (selection year 'minus'). The selection board consists of all the department’s senior faculty members. The final decision on all selections is made by the Department Head. If you have questions about your application or the application process send a note to CME.Mil.Personnel@westpoint.edu If you need to send us anything in hard-copy, use the following address: Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering ATTN: Personnel Officer United States Military Academy West Point, NY 10996 The C&ME fax number is (845) 938-5522. We appreciate your interest in teaching in the department. Stay in touch!